rows, and thick; busies; roosting in firs*’ thorDftreegj: and
others' that arecovered with ivy,* feeding 'probably.wèn. the
berries. Mr. Jesse mentions, that, during the,-frost of the win!
ter of 18S&, a pair of Water-hrens kept almost, entirely 4n a
large arbutus-tree, on the lawn of a house, fjelonginffijoë# lady
at Hampton Wick, which, was enclosed by” a-high jaaling, and
no pond« wa‘s near. ïtft' Here they probably"fed on thé bekeef
of the1'tree, and other .produce- oE-tElfgarden. T h e^ le$ how*-
eyehf -was always^theic place -ofi-refuge if they happened-to be
disturbed when feeding in the garden.
When the -ice disappears, Moor-hen£return to*; the pön<tl;
When the: bird^is in- good^eon difionthe- flesh ls>Well flavoured!
. The Moor-hen is-rare'in" Denmark! and Sweden^Afltj^ls said
by Pennant to.inhabit Russia and part- of*Siberia., It ess
wry. Common in Germany, Hólland,^ France* - j ^ in v > Pro-
-w ^ e ra h d Italy. Dr. Heinekenincltides itam§hg.the Birds
of Madeira; Mr. Joseph Glarkoctn'entioned-B-to me having
seen skins from Africa; and Dr. Andrew Smith 'brought'specimens
from sevfar sputh as, the vicinityho^lthe: Capèvip Mr.
Strickland saw thi%|pird at Smyrna in winter"rjb h a s' béeh
found at Trebizond, and in* t^e! countries between the Black
and the Caspian Seas.
The raale-has thbbeak yeflowish green; the base of it, iapd
the naked patch on the forehead, red ; irbLes reddish hazel;
the back, wings, rump, and tail, rich dark olive-brown; head;
neck, breast, and sides, uniform dark slate-grey; outside of
the thighs and the flanks streaked with white; belly and Went
greyish white; under tail-coverts white; above the tarsal
joint a garter of red ; legs and toes green the,claws dark
brown.
Mr. Gould mentions that he has seen females that werè
more vividly coloured than males.
The length,nf the Moor-hen is about thirteen inches.
’From the carpal joint to the end of the wing six inches and
•inree-quarters.-'
Tbl^yonb^'are - at ‘ firs'! covered with black hairy down.
Theib after-plumage is described by Mr. Selby as white on
thefcthroat; front and cheeks a mixture- of brown and white;
breast an|| sides ash-grey, * tinged with brown; the belly
paler ; the flanks streaked with yellowish brown; under tailed
ver,t*3 cream-yellow; upper* parts dark grey, tinged with
oil-green; beak and legs dull green ; the frontal patch small,
andT partly concealed by feathers. -
The yjgn<ette represents the?- breast-bone of the Moor-hen
of A e natural size, in two points ill view, one from the side,
the other as keen from below ; the latter serves to illustrate
Ae^JattenedTorm of "the body which belongs to the Crakes,
Gallinules, and Rails, .